Taraparain
Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.
TheLittleSongbird
David Attenborough is nothing short of a national treasure. He may apparently dislike the term, but it is hard to not say that about such a great presenter who has contributed significantly to some of the best programmes (of the documentary genre and overall) the BBC has ever aired/produced.It is really hard picking favourites, let alone a definite favourite, among what Attenborough has done because he has done so many gems, it is the equivalent of trying to choose your favourite ice cream flavour or your favourite operatic role (for examples) and finding you can't pick. 'Africa' to me though is right up there, so are the likes of both 'Planet Earth' series, 'The Blue Planet', 'Life' and 'Frozen Planet'. It has everything that makes so much of his work so wonderful and deserves everything great that has been said about it.Once again, 'Africa' first and foremost is a wonderful looking series. It is gorgeously filmed, done in a completely fluid and natural, sometimes intimate (a great way of connecting even more with the animals), way and never looking static. In fact much of it is remarkably cinematic. The editing is always succinct and smooth and the scenery is pure magic, similarly really admired the wide-ranging diversity of the different landscapes rather than restricting it to just one habitat. The music score fits very well, never overly grandiose while never being inappropriate.Along with so much of Attenborough's work, 'Africa' continually fascinates and illuminates, in terms of the facts there was a very good mix of the known ones and the unknown. Because there was such a large breadth and variety of habitats, wildlife and what it covered, it was so easy to learn so much more about the animals and Africa itself, portraying them in ways beyond how Africa is portrayed elsewhere. Attenborough's narration helps quite significantly too, he clearly knows his stuff and knows what to say and how to say it. He delivers it with his usual richness, soft-spoken enthusiasm and sincerity, never talking down to the viewer and keeping them riveted and wanting to know more. The "behind the scenes/making of" scenes too gave some humanity to the series and allowed us to get to know those behind the camera as well as in front.The animals are big in personality and wide in range, they are a mix of cute and predatory, which helps give any conflict genuine tension, any fun moments their fun and the emotional moments pathos. How they adapt to their surroundings, why they behave the way they do, how nature works and how what the wildlife does affects the environments were all touched upon and made their points subtly, not hammering it home too much (a potential danger with documentaries). It completely succeeds, and brilliantly, at both educating and entertaining.Many powerful and poignant moments, as well as suspenseful ones, while not trying too hard to evoke a viewer reaction. One really cares for what they're told and the wildlife. Like much of Attenborough/BBC's other work, each episode doesn't feel like an episodic stringing of scenes, but instead like the best nature documentaries each feels like their own story and journey, with real, complex emotions and conflicts and animal characters developed in a way a human character would in a film but does it better than several.Altogether, a gem and sees Africa and its wildlife in all their splendour. 10/10 Bethany Cox
Aminch Shahi
Since the first episode to last - its an amazing ride , with vast scenery and good depth of knowledge of Africa. Not only it shows the wildlife but it shows how the change in climate and world population is affect each one of them. It also very elegantly shows the local people and how they are trying to help the biodiversity. David did very well on narrating and presenting the wildlife. The story of some animals really touch you heart. An as a Bio scientist myself - its was amazing to see yet another making look of Africa it was time we just get to see Africa since it so vast. The series director and producers and rest of the crew definitely did a master piece on this, i remember looking forward for each episode and truly sad its over...for now. Its truly a beautiful series.. Deserves a title next to Planet Earth.
biancytanky
Planet earth has held the title for a long time as the best of Attenborough but ever since Africa has been released i personally have come to the conclusion of this series superiority, the updated camera work, the general renewal and new insights to animals behavior as individuals and as a society. Episode 4-Cape has raised the bar for all environmental/educational series to come, the diversity within each episode gives a viewer a sense of Range, scale and mass of the ecological system that is being reviewed and recorded. the variation from each environment allows a comparison to be made from Blue Whales to Monkey Beatles. the 'Eye to eye' segment of each episode allows the viewer to get an insight into the difficulty of the recordings and techniques used. The new best of Attenborough!
